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“When you encounter something new, there are some really new and notable stimuli, but you already know quite a bit about that particular experience, because it’s a similar kind of experience to what you have already had before,” says Susumu Tonegawa, a professor of biology and neuroscience at the RIKEN-MIT Laboratory of Neural Circuit Genetics at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Me...

Neuroscientists find memory cells that help us interpret new situations

Neurons that store abstract representations of past experiences are activated when a new, similar event takes place.

April 6, 2020

MIT Professor Markus Buehler designs new proteins with the help of artificial intelligence. He recently translated the spike protein of the novel coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) into sound to visualize its vibrational properties, as seen here, which could help in finding ways to stop the virus. Primary colors represent the spike’s three protein chains.

Q&A: Markus Buehler on setting coronavirus and AI-inspired proteins to music

Translated into sound, SARS-CoV-2 tricks our ear in the same way the virus tricks our cells.

April 2, 2020

MIT biological engineers have created a specialized sensor that allows them to track dopamine in the brain using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as shown in the bottom row. Images in the top row show overall brain activity, as measured by functional MRI.

How dopamine drives brain activity

A specialized MRI sensor reveals the neurotransmitter’s influence on neural activity throughout the brain.

April 1, 2020

The ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) enzyme is responsible for converting RNA building blocks into DNA building blocks, and is a critical player in both DNA synthesis and repair in all organisms.

Newly discovered enzyme “square dance” helps generate DNA building blocks

MIT biochemists can trap and visualize an enzyme as it becomes active — an important development that may aid in future drug development.

March 30, 2020

An iterative, multi-step process for training a neural network, as depicted at top left, leads to an assessment of the tradeoffs between two competing qualities, as depicted in graph at center. The blue line represents a so-called Pareto front, defining the cases beyond which the materials selection cannot be further improved. This makes it possible to identify specific categories of promising new...

Neural networks facilitate optimization in the search for new materials

Sorting through millions of possibilities, a search for battery materials delivered results in five weeks instead of 50 years.

March 26, 2020

From developing vaccines to helping governments keep communities informed, a number of companies with MIT ties are working to address problems brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

MIT-affiliated companies take on Covid-19

A variety of companies with MIT ties are working to address aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

March 26, 2020

Five MIT Space Exploration Initiative payloads are enclosed within the Nanoracks BlackBox platform, further encased in a sample ISS experiment rack containment box, shown here in preflight testing for launch to the International Space Station in March.

Five MIT payloads deployed on the International Space Station

A cohort of transdisciplinary researchers will study the effects of sustained microgravity.

March 25, 2020

MIT researchers observe ripples across a newly fertilized egg that are similar to other systems, from ocean and atmospheric circulations to quantum fluids.

The growth of an organism rides on a pattern of waves

Study shows ripples across a newly fertilized egg are similar to other systems, from ocean and atmospheric circulations to quantum fluids.

March 23, 2020

This graphic of a simulated disease outbreak illustrates how a rapid public health response triggered by PRESAGED's early warning of pathogen exposures can significantly reduce the spread of a disease.

Early warning of disease exposure could improve public health responses

Lincoln Laboratory researchers explore the impact of technology that detects a person's exposure to disease-causing pathogens before symptoms manifest.

March 19, 2020

MIT neuroscientist Ed Boyden has received the 2020 Wilhelm Exner Medal.

Ed Boyden wins prestigious Wilhelm Exner Medal

Entrepreneurial science award recognizes scientists whose work opens up “new dimensions of economic progress."

March 18, 2020

MIT engineers have devised a new approach to studying complex diseases such as ulcerative colitis, which causes inflammation of the intestines.

Using “organs-on-a-chip” to model complicated diseases

A new approach reveals how different tissues contribute to inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis.

March 18, 2020

An algorithm designed to predict the biological effects of 800 “inactive” pill ingredients uncovered thousands of previously undocumented effects. In this visualization of the researchers’ results, inactive ingredients are shown in blue and their protein targets, in red. The number of predicted, and yet-to-be-verified, interactions (gray edges) outnumber those documented so far (in black).

“Inactive” pill ingredients could raise the dose of your medication

With help from artificial intelligence, researchers identify hidden power of vitamin A and ordinary chewing gum glaze.

March 17, 2020

MIT researchers have discovered the structure of an unusual enzyme that some microbes use to break down a component of collagen in the human gut.

Bacterial enzyme could become a new target for antibiotics

Scientists discover the structure of an enzyme, found in the human gut, that breaks down a component of collagen.

March 17, 2020

A new embedded droplet printing method suspends 3D arrays of droplets in a uniquely isolated state that allows for precise processing and experimentation.

SMART announces new method for processing fluid droplets

Microfluidics enables researchers to create unique environment for developing medicine, paving the way for more potent, high-quality drugs.

March 16, 2020

Pioneering researcher Jonathan Weissman joins Whitehead Institute and MIT

Globally respected cell biologist will be the Whitehead Institute’s inaugural Landon T. Clay Professor of Biology and a professor of biology at MIT.